My husband hated Facebook. Let me back up a step. He hates computers, not in a Unabomber, anti-technology kind of way, I mean he has one, and he uses one at work, but they are a necessary evil, on the order of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Facebook, in his mind, was a timewaster. He didn't "get" it and quite frankly didn't want to. It wasn't for him. He didn't understand what the big deal was. It was a closed community. People who were on Facebook spoke their own little lingo that was as intelligible as Russian. (Jon could probably understand Greek, so THAT old metaphor is no good here.) It was irrelevant and he couldn't see any use for it in his life.

I tried to be the Facebook apologist. I know Facebook has its issues. It may not be what the designers envisioned and, yes, there are a lot of, uh, nuts there, but I use it everyday. People read my blog because it posts to Facebook. I keep in touch with all the 20-something nieces and nephews. It's a non-threatening way to touch base with folks who used to come to our church. I've reconnected with folks I haven't seen or talked to in 10 or 20 years.

He was not impressed.

So I sent an invite to join Facebook and suggested a couple dozen friends for him. Maybe he just needed a little encouragement, and this way he would have a ready-made bunch of connections, I thought. The friends all responded and Jon was swamped with 20-some emails. He was NOT amused. He was more irritated at Facebook. He was more confused at the "system". I had overplayed and lost him. I wrote him off as a Facebook hater.

I quit mentioning the FB-word. Instead, I'd relay a little bit of news, here and there. A new baby someone was expecting. A nephew's race results. It wasn't long before he asked, "How'd you find out?" Facebook. For weeks, not even daily, this went on. Until one night, after I'd gone to bed, alone at his desk, he joined Facebook.

I found out the next morning as MY inbox was deluged with messages informing me that everyone added a friend I suggested. Then I found him in the kitchen making breakfast. "You joined Facebook!" I said. He said, "Yeah, but I'm still not sure I get it." So I helped him with a few settings to make it more useful for him.

We haven't had that "I love this-best decision I ever made!" moment, but he's in there, working at it. I think he'll like it even more than the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Sooooo – (And this was HIS brilliant realization, not mine) How much is this like trying to reach people for Christ? It's a parable/analogy so the correlation is not perfect, but as believers, are we an irrelevant, closed community that outsiders don't get? Are we a bunch of time-wastin' nuts? Do we write people off as Jesus-haters, because they don't buy our pitch? Do we ever quit talking/selling it and just live it? Do we push too hard and annoy people or do we answer 'no' for them and never bother to ask?

Something to think about.

After each revision of Contingency, I have worked on drafting a new story. That gives me a break from the intensity of editing and gets me back to the rush of creating something new. That said, this latest draft has been the toughest one yet. The thing doesn’t want to go together at all. It’s like trying to reason with a left-handed Southern woman *ahem*. It proves what I’ve suspected- writing books is like raising children. No two are exactly alike. Some are easy to write/raise and some are problem children. There won’t be any tried and true system for cranking out books in my future.

I am trying to read the backlog of blog emails that accumulated over Christmas. That still counts as reading, right?

I’ve added a host of new Facebook friends- yay!

I downloaded Amazon’s Kindle for PC app (They have one for phones, too!) Check it out. My daughter tried to install it. I grow less impressed with Vista all the time.

Sometimes, I type along, and God stops me and says, “Excuse me, but did you read what you just wrote?” Last Thursday, I was writing about my husband and our first date. I finished the post with this-

God’s plans aren’t always packaged the way we expect, nor do they proceed in a typical fashion. An early disaster isn’t always an indication of future ones. Hang in there. “The end of a thing is better than its beginning.” Ecclesiastes 7:8

God said, “Did you get that? Keep writing!”

Related posts:

1. Writing Update
2. My Writing Goal
3. Twenty Years After the Bad Beginning

It’s that time of year again- birthday time. Time to take a little inventory. I think I’m healthier than I was last year at this time. I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks when I get some bloodwork done. I’m five weeks into this running deal, and although I have no real stamina, I have more than I did 5 weeks ago. (I’ve also not lost any weight yet. So much for positive reinforcement.) I did a year of homeschooling, and the second starts tomorrow. (One of the beautiful things about homeschool- I do NOT have to have school on my birthday.) Hopefully, I’ve learned some parenting along the way.  Professionally, I’ve written 2 drafts of new books, working on a third and did a killer edit on my first. I had several pieces published this spring. I have this website, a monthly newsletter, I Twitter, and I’m on Facebook. Not bad for someone ‘my age’. Of course, according to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything. Not age 42, just 42.
One thing’s for sure- I’d rather be 42 than 22. I’d even rather be 42 than 32. In fact, if we could get my youngest through potty-training, I wouldn’t care to hang out here for a few years. That’s not possible, I know. I guess it’s just another way of saying I’m tremendously blessed. (Including tangible, culinary blessings like Texas Roadhouse for dinner.) I wish YOU a happy day today.

I know God has taught me some incredible lessons this year. I’ve gained a real appreciation for the second ‘half’ of Isaiah (chapters 40-66). I’ll leave you with the first few verses of chapter 43.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;